If you’ve ever wondered what really goes under the hood of OTC-listed stocks like Greene Concepts, Inc. (ticker: INKW), you’re in the right place. This article walks you through the actual numbers—revenue, profit, debt, those key ratios—and gets candid about how to dig them up, the quirks (and headaches) of reporting standards, and how “verified” means something shockingly different outside the S&P500 crowd. I’ll share my own stumbles and surprises tracking this microcap, echo expert and regulator opinions, and, since there’s a lot of confusion out there: I’ll give you a step-by-step look at what’s official, what’s just talk, and how it lines up when you peer across the ocean.
The first time I tried to research INKW was a wild experience. No shiny 10-K, no earnings call transcript on Seeking Alpha. Unlike Apple, these microcaps live in a reporting gray area, and it’s easy to hit a wall. But with a little resourcefulness, anyone can dig up the basics—if you know where to look (and how much salt to pinch).
First, forget Yahoo Finance or Google—INKW is "Pink Current," meaning regular financials aren’t audited like on NASDAQ. The only reliable place is the OTC Markets Disclosure page. Here’s my workflow:
Fine, so you’ve braved the scary PDFs. Here’s what you find (as of Q1 2024):
Notice that for some periods you’ll see gaps (“NA” or “not disclosed”). That’s standard here. It’s not fraud, but it’s a risk: the financials aren’t audited.
Let’s cook up some simple ratios so we have a sense of scale:
Expert comment: According to OECD report on OTC transparency, “Key metrics for OTC stocks are often subject to higher estimation risk, especially where unaudited statements prevail.”
This is where things get fun—and, honestly, a bit maddening. “Verified” means very different things in different jurisdictions.
Country/Block | Verified Trade Legal Basis | Enforcement/Reporting Agency | Level of Disclosure |
---|---|---|---|
United States (OTC) | US SEC Rule 15c2-11; OTC Pink guidelines | SEC, OTC Markets Group | Unaudited, company-provided if "Pink Current" |
European Union | MiFID II (EU) 2019/876 | ESMA, national regulators | Strict, must be audited for most exchanges |
China (STAR Market) | CSRC Listing Rules, STAR Market Guidance | China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) | Full audit, quarterly and annual filing |
Canada (CSE/TSX-Venture) | CSA Staff Notice 51-306 | CSA, provincial regulators | Quarterly, semi-annual; light audit for smallest |
So if you’re trading INKW, you’re in a world where disclosures are self-reported, investor protections are “buyer beware”—but in Germany or China, audited statements are the norm.
About two months ago, I followed a discussion on InvestorsHub where a user (“MojoMiner”) challenged the revenue growth claim by pasting screenshots of missing cash flow statements. Another user, claiming to be a former auditor, jumped in: “In OTC, ‘verified’ only means the doc was uploaded—not that it’s true. Unless you see an independent CPA report, triple question everything.” That exchange changed how I read these filings forever.
Here’s the kind of screenshot you see—hand-typed table cells, no audit letter:
I called up an old college friend who’s now a CFA at a midwestern brokerage and asked whether he’d trust “Pink Current” numbers. His take: “You can track trends, see if the assets and debts aren’t lopsided, but you shouldn’t bet your savings expecting perfect GAAP. INKW isn’t Sarbanes-Oxley compliant. If there’s a sharp increase or weirdness—step back and scan for patterns, not guarantees.”
This skeptical approach is echoed by the SEC’s 2021 Microcap Securities statement: “Investors should recognize the heightened risk of inaccurate, incomplete, or fraudulent disclosures in the ‘Pink Current’ sphere.”
To recap, having dug through the actual filings, forum chatter, and official commentary, here’s where I land:
My honest advice? Learn from my early mistake assuming “filed” meant “verified.” Ask the dumb questions in forums, read the actual PDFs, and if it seems too shiny, step back and squint. For the most current details, always check the official INKW OTC page and, for cross-border comparisons, dig into sites like Canada’s OSC or the European ESMA.
Financials are numbers, but on the OTC, they’re also a story—sometimes a tall tale. Carry a grain of salt, a calculator, and a healthy skepticism.